The NBA draft’s early-entry list is finally set. Most of the top high school recruits have chosen their college programs, and transfers have decided on new schools. Though the offseason still has a ways to go, let’s break down college basketball’s 10 winners and losers thus far.
Three SEC teams lead the “offseason losers” while one Big Ten coach can celebrate like no other.
WINNERS
Tom Crean, Indiana Hoosiers
No one had a better offseason than Indiana’s coach. The Hoosiers were worried about losing any and all of the trio of Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr. and Troy Williams. Crean is getting all three back, and Indiana added Thomas Bryant (No. 22 on ESPN 100), one of the most talented big men in the country. The Hoosiers go into the 2015-16 season with high expectations and should compete for one of the top spots in the Big Ten.
The Shockers won all around. Gregg Marshall spurned Alabama and came back to Wichita, and his backcourt of Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet both decided to return to school. Not many programs had a better offseason than the Shockers, who should be a fringe top-10 preseason club.
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils
For a while, it looked as though the defending national champs would be just another team. The Blue Devils lost senior Quinn Cook and their three freshmen -- Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones -- leaving them with a thin roster that didn’t feature a point guard. However, Duke convinced one of the top 2016 point guards, Derryck Thornton, to commit as part of the Class of 2015, and also added one of the top scoring wings, Brandon Ingram, who had Kentucky and UNC pursuing him. Now Duke will be in the equation to return to the Final Four.
If the Sooners had lost Buddy Hield to the NBA draft, they would have been just another top 25-ish team. However, the versatile guard decided to return to Norman -- and that made Lon Kruger’s squad a legit preseason top-10 team. With Hield and fellow seniors Isaiah Cousins and Ryan Spangler, OU will have a chance to go deep next March.
Melo Trimble and Jake Layman, both of whom would have been taken in the NBA draft, decided to return to the Terrapins, and now Mark Turgeon’s team becomes a viable candidate to go to the Final Four. Maryland also adds Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter for this season.
Kris Dunn is back despite being considered a lock to be taken in the first round of the draft. Dunn’s return means the Friars have a chance to get to the NCAA tourney. Without him, coach Ed Cooley likely would have endured a long season of mediocrity in the Big East.
Larry Krystkowiak, Utah Utes
The Utes' coach will have to find a replacement for standout point guard Delon Wright, but he wouldn’t have been able to take the hit of dealing with the departure of Wright and talented big man Jakob Poeltl. The 7-foot Austrian would have been a first-rounder, maybe even a late lottery pick, but he decided to come back. Now the Utes will remain nationally relevant.
The Huskies lost Ryan Boatright to graduation, but bring back everyone else of note -- Daniel Hamilton, Amida Brimah and Rodney Purvis -- and will add talented freshman point guard Jalen Adams. The also kept their coach, Kevin Ollie, and added an experienced forward in Cornell transfer Shonn Miller, who can play this season. I’d call the Huskies offseason winners.
I didn’t really expect any of Mark Few’s frontcourt guys to actually leave early for the NBA, but all three -- Domantas Sabonis, Przemek Karnowski and Kyle Wiltjer -- flirted with the idea before deciding to come back.
Obviously, it will depend whether coach John Beilein lands Jaylen Brown, the No. 2 player in the land and really the only elite player still on the board for the Class of 2015. However, Beilein and the Wolverines can celebrate anyway after Caris LeVert decided to return to Ann Arbor. With a healthy LeVert and Derrick Walton Jr., and big men with some experience, Michigan should be back next season.
LOSERS
Coach John Calipari lost seven guys, and while the Wildcats will be just fine next season, it’s hard not to call them losers in the offseason. He even had to take a junior college shooter, Mychal Mulder, whom Louisville passed on. It could all change if they land Jaylen Brown, but Calipari also missed on several other recruits.
The Tigers could have thrown out a lineup of Jarell Martin, Jordan Mickey, Ben Simmons along with Antonio Blakeney and whatever point guard you want to toss out there. That’s a team that could have gone deep in the postseason. However, Martin and Mickey both left and now the Tigers won’t have the size and experience up front. With those two guys back, they would have been a top-10 team.
Simply put, the Razorbacks lost their two best players in Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls. No one will question Portis’ decision because he’s a first-round lock, but Qualls was a head-scratcher, to some extent. I know he has personal issues to take care of, but the departure of these two guys likely means coach Mike Anderson’s program won’t be going to the NCAA tournament in 2015-16.
The Cavs could have been the preseason No. 1 team in the land if Justin Anderson returned. However, the athletic wing -- who was hurt down the stretch -- opted to declare for the NBA draft. Virginia still will be ACC contenders, but also certainly will miss Anderson’s athleticism and toughness.
Gary Waters, Cleveland State Vikings
You’ve got to feel for Cleveland State’s coach, who has lost his best two players to the graduate transfer rule. Guard Trey Lewis averaged 16.3 points, and he’s headed to Louisville, while Anton Grady (14.3 PPG, 7.9 RPG) is attracting attention from a bunch of elite programs.
On one hand, coach Bruce Weber loses five guys out of the top 10 in his rotation to transfers. However, those guys were a part of a team that went 15-17 last season. Marcus Foster led the team in scoring, and is headed to Creighton. Nigel Johnson is transferring to Rutgers, and Malek Harris, Tre Harris and Jevon Thomas are also leaving. Perception-wise, this many defections/losses don’t help.
Coach Mark Gottfried’s team could have been a top-20 club, but his leading scorer, Trevor Lacey, decided to go pro in one of the more surprising early-entry decisions. The Pack still have plenty of talent, but the loss of Lacey is a significant hit, along with the graduation of Ralston Turner and the transfer of big man Kyle Washington.
Things were looking so good for Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar in the middle of the season, but then defensive presence Robert Upshaw was dismissed for violating team rules. After the season, the team’s starting point guard and top player, Nigel Williams-Goss, decided to transfer. U-Dub has a strong freshman class coming in, but Romar also lost his top recruiter in T.J. Otzelberger, who left to return to Iowa State.
Mark Price, Charlotte 49ers
The former standout NBA point guard took over the program at Charlotte in late March and didn’t have much of a chance. He lost four of his top seven scorers to transfer: Mike Thorne, who is headed to Illinois; leading scorer and freshman Torin Dorn; fellow freshman Keyshawn Woods (8.4 PPG); and power forward Willie Clayton (7.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG). Now it becomes a total retooling job for a guy who doesn’t know the college landscape.
I feel badly for the athletic big man. We (myself included) built him up in AAU ball, and he just wasn’t an elite player. He struggled in his time in Gainesville, and then wound up declaring for the NBA draft. My guess is he’ll wind up in the D-League, and it’s just a sad story from a kid who had a difficult upbringing.